My 1983 Mazda RX-7 GS
I made this site to articulately document the transormations and
modifications my baby undergoes. I plan on upgrading every aspect of
the car, the audio system, the interior, the exterior style, the
handling, the power, and lessening the weight. However this will be
difficult because I'm just a sixteen year old guy with a part time
job and not alot of money. We'll see how it goes...
2GCDFIS Write-up
Stock Specs by Motor Trend
Thanks to PB&J Racing
|
69 rear-wheel horsepower (about 88 flywheel horsepower) 2360 lbs. estimated weight or about... 34.202 lb/rwhp |
104 rear-wheel horsepower (about 130 flywheel horsepower) 2306 lbs. estimated weight or about... 22.173 lb/rwhp |
Mods:
Full racing exhaust (Racing Beat)
Removed air pump
new Rockford Fosgate front and rear speakers (pics coming soon)
2GCDFIS
The plan...
1: Remove all unnecesary weight and crap
2: Racing Beat full exhaust system (done)
3: Remove rat's nest and air pump (air pump gone)
4: Install Carter electric fuel pump and Spectre regulator (they're in the mail)
5: Sterling carb treatment from PB&J Racing
6: Front mounted air-to-oil cooler from 2nd Gen. RX7
(got the cooler, still need some mounts and new lines)
7: Polyurethane bushings up front (I think the rubber ones are worn out)
8: Racing Beat lowering springs and Tokico HP shocks all around
9:NOS Top Shot
10: Kosei 15" Racing Rims
or...
GSL-SE rear end (with LSD and rear discs),
2nd Gen front brake conversion, and some 17" wheels
10: Street Port
11: Turbo (or supercharger)
Log
January 2nd 2006:
Current status of my baby:
Well having my baby tucked away for the winter, now instead of spending all my time driving I have to get my fix by working on her. So the other day I went in and removed the carbureator so that I can send it to RX7Carl to get it completely reworked for more airflow and fuel. While I was in there I also got rid of the sub-zero start assist (stupid useless little feature just cluttering the engine bay). I also removed the "rat's nest", which is a mess of emissions controls etc. (this car is pre-computers so this mess of crap manages the emissions system through electrical signals and vaccuum power). Also after taking off the carbureator I found that there is this "shutter valve" in the intake manifold. It closes sometimes to block off one of the four channels, restricting airflow. Obviously this will NOT be tolerated, as airflow=power. So one of my next projects will be to remove this valve, as well as grind off some obstructions in the intake manifold, and then weld (or JB-weld) up the holes. Gotta love little do-it-yourself modifications that make you more power.
October 27th 2005:
So I have two updates now, first off I performed the 2nd. Generation Coil Direct Fire Ignition System on my car. Check out my writeup here. This mod gives a stronger spark to more completely burn the fuel. It makes the car run smoother, start easier, make more power and get better fuel efficiency. The only draw back is now it doesn't shoot flames like it used to. That was fun... oh well I set it up so the ignition system can be switched back to stock easily.
Now the second update, I finally got my 6.5" Rockford Fosgate speakers for the rear. They didn't fit properly in the original holes, so I had to cut it out to make the hole larger. I just drilled a bunch of holes around and then used a hammer and chisel to cut it out. I was quite impressed with my custom fabrication ;) Now it's all wired up and they sound AWESOME. They match the front so everything works great. Next step in audio is to get a 4 channel amp to boost all the power. Or else add a sub in a custom box behind the passenger seat.
September 27th 2005:
On Sunday I installed my new Rockford Fosgate 4" front speakers. The fitment and everything took a few tricks, but it was pretty easy. I had to use a sort of hybrid of the existing wires and the supplied ones to make a good connection. I might go back in and re-do taht but it works great for now. Soon I plan on gettin the 6.5" equivalents for the back :D
P.S. I'll get pics up soon, these things look sexy.
September 11th 2005:
Today I was messin around under the hood and I think I fixed the secondary issues. I dont know exactly what it's called but there was a cable on the back of the carb that had slipped off its seat, so all I had to to was re-seat it and now it appears that everything is alright. I took it out and made two runs with the G-Meter and got figures of 96 and 97rwhp. For a 23 year old car thats supposed to got 105hp peak originally, thats not bad. With a tune up and a few more runs I'm sure I can get almost 110hp. But most important is that the power REALLY comes on when you step on the gas, it's addicting.
September 10th 2005 #2:
Now for the good stuff. After about 7 hours of work (both me and my Uncle Al) I finally got the old corroded exhaust off and my new Racing Beat full race exhaust system on. This eliminates the catalytic converters, old header and restrictive muffler in exchange for a new bigger chromed out (bling) header, presilencer and a new Monza muffler. This alone is supposed to add 22 peak horsepower (EDIT: not peak horsepower, hp at 7000rpm. so it gives a bit more peak but mostly it extends the power curve longer). Plus, the old exhaust stuff weighed 80 pounds total. The Racing Beat equipment that replaced it weighs only 60 pounds. On top of that I got to remove all sorts of lower heat shielding and exhaust return lines, etc. All that stuff weighed 11 pounds. But here comes the surprise...
While we were in there we ditched the old air pump and air control valves, taking stress off the engine, letting it rev more freely and freeing up some extra horses lost. That stuff weighed 10 pounds.
So over all I took alot of stress off the engine, and added alot of power, not to mention mention a bit more fuel efficiency, lowered the intake charge temperature (by getting rid of the exhaust return line and other such things that feed hot air into the air cleaner) and I lost alot of weight (41 pounds total).
P.S. I'm gonna take it out sometime soon and test out the power. As soon as I get that carb workin right I hope to be lookin at around 120-125 horses.
September 10th 2005 #1:
I have alot to report on but first there's something I discovered about a week ago today. Im pretty sure that the secondaries on my carbeurator aren't functioning properly. This is most likely the reason I was getting such little high-end horsepower (recorded just 69hp). I used some carb cleaner etc. to see if they were just stuck, but they werent. So as far as I can tell theres something wrong with the vacuum lines. I'm going to keep trying out stuff to try and get it working, but if I cant do it I'll have to take it into a shop that knows more than I do about carbuerators. With that fixed she should roar.
August 15th 2005:
Today I was bored so I removed the storage bins to investigate a subwoofer installation. When I did this I found a few things:
1. 4 pounds of removeable sound insulation (gone now)
2. Some left over crap from the stock sound system (replaced by the old owner)
3. CANCER!!! yes, it lurks on even the minty-est of old cars. I found two spots, one on each wheel well. One was large and had rusted through the first layer of metal, while the other was just starting. I sanded as much off as I could, and sprayed it with WD-40 (a temporary fix)
When I replaced the bins i found that Mazda had added a bunch of unnecesary plastic on the inside of the lids. Needless to say, its gone now, as are a bunch of screws used to hold it in place. So overall my car lost a healthy 6 pounds of unnecesary crap today. The only possible side-effect is increased road-noise, but I'm not worried about it.
Verdict: lost another 6 pounds, found cancer (its better to find it now than when it eats all the way through to the outside)
P.S. Now I removed the amp and another pound of extra weight.
August 11th 2005:
I tried out the G-Meter today with a horsepower measurement. On two out of three runs I got a reading of 69rwhp. I dont know if thats right or not but its a bit depressing. I'm sure with a few more runs and maybe a cleaner air filter I could get a few more horses out of it. So depressing as it may be, 69 is the number I got so 69 is the number I'm using for now. Hopefully thats not an entirely accurate measure of the horsepower, but we'll see.
I ordered a Racing Beat straight-through race exhaust earlier this week so hopefully I'll receive it sometime next week, and so I'll try to get a few more complete runs in testing before the exhaust gets installed. Then of course I'll make some tests afterwards and post all results.
July 22nd 2005:
So I've been pretty busy lately, (workin up some money for mods) but i actually got the Rex out today and put it through it's paces out on some country roads. I only brought it up to 85-90mph (so not ALL the way through it's paces) but I gotta say, this thing is smooooooooooth. Even redlining 3rd it was like butter. It revs to 7k without hesitation. I love this car. The other day I bought a G-Meter off eBay, so someday soon I plan on takin the Rex out and getin some figures.
P.S. a G-Meter is a little device that cleverly uses an accelerometer, a clock, and some simple math so accurately calculate all sorts of figures for a car. Not only 0-60, 60-0, 1/4 mile, and instantaneous and continuous G's, but also horsepower. All you have to do is input the weight of the car. And best of all, it'll set you back less than $30 on ebay.
July 5th 2005:
Today I finished removing some of the unnecesary crap (bra, 2-piece ski rack) and as soon as I get it registered in state (the Minnesota state government is in the shitter right now so that may take awhile) and get through emissions... let the games begin.
Verdict: lost 6 pounds of unnecesary crap
July 3rd 2005:
I finally got the car yesterday. It looks great. The engine is completely clean, it runs like a dream. The paint is in good shape, its all original. The interior is great for its age. I bought it with just 65,000 miles. It has barely been driven in the last 10 years.
Verdict: fun as hell... which means after mods, who knows?
e-mail me if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions at...
[email protected]
Thanks, Joe
Counters
I owe so much to these guys
